Since moving to Liverpool for £75million, Virgil van Dijk has had a huge impact at the club, helping them win their first league title in 30 years and a sixth European Cup.
Liverpool's defensive colossus Virgil van Dijk hasn't looked out of place from the moment he set foot on the famous Anfield pitch. Yet, despite a record-breaking move to Merseyside in January 2018, few could have foreseen the part he would have to play in making Liverpool a dominant force once more. Virgil has recently signed a new contract with Liverpool that will see him remain at the club until the summer of 2025.
The first task for Virg was to keep Liverpool's rivals Everton at arm's length in an FA Cup third round tie at Anfield. What is the best way to introduce yourself to your new fans? By scoring the winner against your biggest local rivals, of course.
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Champions league
Van Dijk was included in the 2017/18 Champions League Team of the Season, despite Liverpool losing to Real Madrid in the final. He would taste Champions League success just a year later, thanks to his dominant performance, the centre-back was named UEFA's Man of the Match after keeping Spurs at bay for the entire game. Van Dijk performs when it matters and he upped his game to a new level.
Premier League
When Liverpool accumulated 97 points and only lost one game in the 2018/19 Premier League season yet still lost out on the league title few would believe they could replicate such form again. However, the following season saw a Manchester City drop-off, while Klopp's Liverpool were relentless in their pursuit of the club's first league title in 30 years.
Regarded as one of Jurgen Klopp's best signings, Van Dijk was the only player who featured in every single minute of Liverpool's 2019/20 Premier League title-winning campaign. Not only did Van Dijk heavily contribute to Liverpool's 15 clean sheets, he also notched five league goals, with one coming in his first North-West Derby when Liverpool beat Manchester United 2-0 in 2020. Van Dijk, who has brought calmness and steel to Liverpool's backline, has struck up a great relationship with Jurgen Klopp.
Klopp on four years of Virgil
UEFA Player of the Year
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Ballon d'Orrunner-up
Defenders aren't supposed to be anywhere close to the Ballon d'Or. The award is normally saved for the striker who scores 1,000 goals per year, so Van Dijk was always facing an uphill battle to get himself on the podium for the award. He may have come up short, but the fact that he actually managed to finish second is an enormous achievement - and he was only seven points away from winning the whole thing. After lifting the Champions League trophy, Van Dijk waltzed to the UEFA Player of the Year award a few months later, in what was one of the least surprising outcomes of all time. His total of 305 points was almost 100 ahead of Lionel Messi, who was the only player who even came close to beating Van Dijk to the award.
Honours
TEAM
Premier League 19–20, UEFA Champions League 18–19, FIFA Club World Cup 19, FA Cup 21–22, EFL Cup 21–22, UEFA Super Cup 19, Scottish Premiership(2), Scottish League Cup...
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Individual
UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award, Liverpool Players' Player of the Season Award, UEFA Team of the Year, Premier League Player of the Season, PFA Players' Player of the Year, PFA Team of the Year(3), UEFA Defender of the Season, UEFA Nations League Finals Team of the Tournament...
He's Virgil van Dijk
He's our centre-half, He's our number four, Watch him defend, And we watch him score, He'll pass the ball, Calm as you like, He's Virgil van Dijk,He's Virgil van Dijk
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